Literature Review

Evolving medical licensing laws could affect hospice workforce, diversity challenges Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 5/1/24 A rash of states are restructuring their medical licensing requirements to allow more trained clinicians from other countries to find employment in the United States. The trend is an aim to address prolific workforce shortages, including in hospice, but could also have impacts on improving diversity, equity and inclusion. Some states have restructured medical licensing requirements for certain international medical graduates (IMGs) to allow more clinical professionals to work in the United States.

Nurse pleads guilty to 22 counts of patient murder, attempted murder Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 5/2/24 Heather Pressdee, a Pennsylvania nurse, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted homicide, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported May 1. Ms. Pressdee pleaded guilty on May 2 in an ongoing hearing that is expected to go until May 3. She was given three consecutive life sentences and 380 to 760 years consecutively. Ms. Pressdee, 41, was first charged in May 2023 in connection with the mistreatment of three nursing home patients while working at Quality Life Services in Chicora, Pa., including two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. In November, she was charged in connection with the mistreatment of 19 additional patients that were in her care at five different facilities since 2020. 

Ensign Group buys 7 nursing homes in 6 states Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 5/1/24 Senior living services company Ensign Group acquired seven skilled nursing facilities in six states, as well as a long-term acute care hospital. The deals closed Wednesday [5/1], the same day Ensign Group will report first quarter 2024 earnings. The acquisitions include: [click on the title's link for the list] ...

CIOs' top 15 priorities over next 3 years Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 5/1/24 CIOs' top priority over the next one to three years will be driving business innovation, according to a recent CIO survey. That differs from their current No. 1 focus, which is cybersecurity, per an April CIO story. Here are the activities CIOs plan to spend more time on in the next one to three years, according to the 2024 survey of 1,126 IT leaders: ... [click on the title's link for the list]. 

MultiPlan, insurance giants sued over out-of-network rates Modern Healthcare; by Nona Tepper; 4/29/24 A rural health system sued technology company MultiPlan and eight of the country's largest insurance companies over alleged schemes to strongarm providers into accepting low out-of-network rates. At issue in the proposed class-action suit are MultiPlan's repricing tools, which allegedly rely on insurers' data to deflate their out-of-network reimbursement payments. 

Executive Personnel Changes - 5/3/24

Physician-Assisted Suicide Bill recommended by second committee in Massachusetts legislature New Boston Post; 5/1/24 A bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide has gotten a favorable vote from a second legislative committee, ... This is the earliest in the state’s two-year legislative session that the bill has been recommended by the Joint Committee on Public Health, and it’s the first time the bill has made it out of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, said Melissa Stacy, Northeast regional advocacy manager for Compassion & Choices, according to MASSterList.

NHPCO's 2024 Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care Needs Assessment NHPCO; via email; 5/1/24 The 2024 Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care Needs Assessment is a product of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) Pediatric Advisory Council. The goal of the needs assessment is to gain a better understanding of the organizations and providers caring for pediatric patients with serious illnesses throughout the United States. The needs assessment helps create resources and support advocacy. The survey should only be completed once by each organization so please coordinate with your team to complete the survey. For help gathering information, we have created a PDF version of the survey but you will need to input the information into this survey for the information to be used.

Nurses have reservations about use of AI on the job: survey McKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 4/29/24More than half of the nurses responding to a new survey by Cross Country Healthcare said they have reservations about the potential benefits of artificial intelligence in the nursing field. The online survey of 1,127 nursing professionals and students at hospitals and other healthcare facilities was conducted Jan. 18 to March 11. Respondents who said they are uncomfortable using AI expressed concerns about the potential absence of empathy and diminished patient connection. Those who said that they are comfortable with using AI on the job expressed a belief that the technology enhances efficiency, documentation, data analysis and research, upskilling opportunities and automated monitoring systems.

DEA tells court that Right to Try law doesn’t supersede CSA in psilocybin case PsychedelicNewsWire; 4/30/24The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is claiming that a federal law that affords severely ill individuals the right to try investigational medications doesn’t apply to drugs classified under the Controlled Substances Act. This is in response to a lawsuit filed by a doctor in Washington state who sought permission to legally administer psilocybin as treatment for patients in end-of-life care with cancer. The agency argues that because drugs classified under Schedule I are said to have no accepted medical use, the law prevents them from being dispensed, even by professionals. 

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals to be acquired by Ono Pharmaceutical for $2.4 billion LevinPro HC; 4/30/24Deciphera Pharmaceuticals announced on April 29 that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to be acquired for a total equity value of $2.4 billion. Upon completion, Deciphera will operate as a standalone business of Ono, from its headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. 

To stay open, rural nursing homes in the Midwest prioritize nurses NPR KCUR 89.3; by Aaron Bonderson; 5/1/24... Not enough nurses. Nursing home closures are creeping across Nebraska and other parts of the Midwest. Since 2020, 13 Nebraska nursing homes have shuttered, according to the American Health Care Association (AHCA). During that time, 25 Kansas nursing homes, 27 in Missouri, and 36 in Iowa closed their doors. According to the Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA), 22 nursing homes in Iowa closed in 2022 alone because of poor quality of care and low occupancy. ... Staffing shortages and quality of care concerns are the leading reasons long-term care facilities shut down, according to the AHCA and the CMA. The pandemic didn’t help matters, stretching employees and resources to their limits.Editor's Note: Click on the title's link and scroll down for a US map of states with data for rank, nurse staff hours per resident per day (HRPD), total nurses, and total providers.

Hospice of the Chesapeake selects Netsmart myUnity® to propel organizational growth and advance value-based care initiatives StreetInsider.com; Business Wire; 4/30/24 Netsmart and Hospice of the Chesapeake, a premier provider of hospice and palliative care services in Maryland, announce an advanced collaboration through the successful implementation of the myUnity® electronic health record (EHR) system. This move underscores Hospice of the Chesapeake's commitment to enhancing patient care, supporting organizational growth and embracing value-based care models. "Selecting myUnity fulfilled a strategic necessity for us," said Hospice of the Chesapeake CEO Rebecca Miller. "We needed a platform that could not only support our current infrastructure but also grow with us as we expand our services. ..."